Author's Notes: Okay everyone. The second to last chapter. I apologize in advance if my grammar and spelling are off. I have been going insane from finals. I know a few people out there are probably feeling my pain as well. For this particular section of the story, I would like to recommend a few songs that would go well with this. I always love to write to soundtracks, so if you have any of these songs on your computer, I suggest you give them a listen while or after you read: "Long Night" by the Corrs, "Prayer '94" by Bon Jovi, and "Listen To Your Heart" by D.H.T.

Enjoy everyone!

Chapter Eight
In The Twilight

The faint chiming of the clock tower striking two echoed outside of the ballroom of the military headquarters. All of the lights had begun to fade into a dim glow as the last guests began to file out of the large room. Music still played faintly in the background as a sweet farewell to the soldiers and aristocrats. A few of the younger women clung to the arms of their dates, letting their eyes become filled with stars. They sighed happily as they walked up the stairs, singing the praises of the night that seem like a fairytale.

And yet, to the young mechanic from Rizenpool, it was nothing but an evening of disappointment and heartbreak. After Ed had left her in the middle of the floor, she didn't know how to react. At first, she had remained frozen in her spot, keeping her hand out to him. It took a light touch from Gracia and Hughes to get her attention back to the room. They had taken her to the side, offering her comfort. While the Gracia had talked to her and gave her something to drink, Hughes and the Colonel had vanished from sight. She couldn't bring herself to cry or be angry. All she did was sit there, drinking the sparkling cider that was offered to her by Havoc.

As the guests began to leave, she told them that it was okay to go on ahead. All she really wanted to at that moment was to be alone. After all the hints and thoughts of the young man that had lived next door to her for so many years, the thought of maybe having him return her feelings just seemed as if it was never going to happen. She sat alone as the lights dimmed, feeling like a fool for even trying to make him think differently.

Winry let her gaze move to the large glass windows. The parade grounds were still alit with the stunning lights and beautiful decorations that gave this place a very magical feeling a few hours ago. And yet, with all the things that made it seem amazing, nothing seemed to matter. Resting her head upon her hand, she let her eyes wander about the ballroom.

A small sigh escaped her as she began to come to her feet. 'I guess I should just head back to the dorm,' she thought to herself, fixing her dress as she rose, turning to look towards the exit. 'Maybe I could find Ed when I get back and see what—'

Letting her eyes stop at the top of the stairs, Winry froze in her spot. There, stopped in his spot was the young man that had vanished from the room what seemed like forever ago. He looked about the room, noticing that she was looking up at him. No expression was upon his face as he started down to the floor, taking a somewhat slow pace walking down the steps.

Coming down to the floor level, the young woman could tell that his face was slightly flustered, almost as if he had just ran a sprint or had finished his normal workout routine. His long blond hair looked as perfect as always, as it remained in its ponytail. Gold eyes flashed a stare in her direction as he started to walk across the marble floor, followed by a small calming grin. As he past the orchestra, he muttered something to them, gaining a nod from the conductor.

"Ed?" She finally managed to muster out, watching as the young alchemist headed towards the windows off to the side. Seeing his smile, Winry felt that anger begin to rise up within her, almost as if she were craving a wrench in her hand to throw at him. "What the hell happened earlier? You ran off, leaving me all alone on the floor and I was completely embarrassed! How could you do that to me? I thought you cared!"

But the young man made no attempt to try and argue back with her. Moving over to the windows, he looked up at them carefully. In a way, it almost seemed as if he were ignoring her tries to fight with him, which only angered her even more. Biting her lip a bit, Winry could feel tears starting to form in her eyes in frustration.

"Fine! Ignore me! See if I ever do you any favors again!" she screamed at him. Holding up her skirt a bit, the young woman started onto the dance floor, making her way for the stairs at a quickened pace. "Why did I even bother with you…you alchemy freak?!" she screamed, turning to glare at him. Thin streams of tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to contain herself.

Turning on his heels, Ed let his smile soften more. "Because I can do this."

Moving his hands behind his back, the sound of him clapping echoed throughout the room, causing the girl to withdraw a bit. Placing his hands onto the glass, the light of an alchemy array illuminated the room. The light crawled up the glass windows around the entire room, up to the dome above the dance floor. As the girl watched carefully, her eyes widened in amazement as the glass and walls began to look as if they were frosting over with a thin layer of ice. Different patterns and designs started to appear, making the room look like something out of a dream. As she stood in the middle of the floor, a soft layer of snow begun to fall from the now opened dome above the floor. The shower of white slowly came down as Winry stared in awe at the sight. She held her hand out; catching a few of the flakes in her hands to make sure it was real.

All anger was lost to her as she looked around in amazement. She spun around, taking in the scene as the transmutation finished. "Oh my…" was all that she could muster out. Snow clung to her long hair as she spun about, letting a smile cross her lips. And yet, it was the sound of footsteps from the young alchemist that made her turn to face him straight on.

He moved slowly towards her, cautiously taking each step. As he came onto the dance floor, the snow clung to his hair and uniform slightly. Ed could feel his heart wanting to jump out of his chest with his nerves. A knot was forming in the pit of his stomach as he watched the girl turn to him, seeing the tail of tears rolling down her cheeks. There was something there that needed to come out and it had to be that time.

Smiling a bit while brushing some of the tears away, Winry let her hair fall over his shoulder, "This is…unbelievable."

"Winry," he began, causing the young woman to become quiet. Ed wore a stern expression upon his features, letting his shoulders tense. He looked down to the floor that slowly became covered with a light snow as they stood across from each other, silence hanging on the air. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

The mechanic was taken back at his words. She could see that there was guilt written upon his face. She had seen that look a few times before in the years she had known him. She tried to speak, but he continued on.

"Ever since my mom died, I could only think of how my father never came back to her. He was always be off and we would never hear from him. There was always so much pain in my mother's eyes when she would think about him." Looking up at her, Ed let a small smile come to his lips as his eyes soften. "I don't want to do that to you Winry."

"Ed," she breathed out, feeling her heart stop in her chest. She covered her gasp her hand as was surprised by this words.

Starting forwards where the girl stood, Ed let his eyes lock with hers. He kept his back straight, giving his strides to her almost a dignified look. Reaching out to her, Edward stood awaiting her hand. "I know you're angry with me. But please let me have one last dance with you."

Before she could even let her answer come to her lips, the sound of a soft piano playing grabbed her attention. Looking over to the band, they had begun to play a song similar to earlier that night. Surprise and confusion came to her as she looked back at the young man whose eyes were staring at her, awaiting her answer.

Wiping her eyes dry, she could only find a nod to give him a yes. Placing her hand into his, Winry let him take hold of her waist with his free hand. Ed slowly pulled her close, moving into the dance position. He held her hand in his own as they slowly began to dance to the beat of the song. They started around the floor in a waltz as the song played.

The light dusting of snow continued as the music continued to play. It landed upon the dancing couple as they moved across the floor. The train to Winry's dress kicked up a bit of the already fallen snow, causing the two to become surrounded by the powder. None of it mattered; all that was important was the two of them at that very moment.

Pulling back a bit from the young woman, Ed continued to hold her close to him. He looked into her blue eyes, which still had lingering tears in them. She looked at him with question upon her face, wondering why he looked at her in that way. "I never want to hurt someone I care about," he paused, letting a smile form to the corners of his lips once more. "Especially you Winry. I love you too much to let you be sad."

Her eyes widened at his words. "Edo, what did you just say?" she asked, letting her hold on him tighten slightly.

The dance began to slow to the point where they were barely moving. Winry watched as the young man's expression became stern. He took his hand from hers, placing it to her cheek. Letting his gloved fingers slowly grace her face, Ed brushed away the small traces of tears. He had never thought she would be that close to him without having a set of tools in hand. It was different than any moments there might have been in the past.

Winry felt her cheeks growing red at his touch, almost surprised at his actions. Placing her free hand onto his waist, she let herself be pulled in closer. All she could do was hold tightly to him. She looked into the familiar gold eyes that she knew so well as if they were a brand new sight to her. This was a side to him that she had never seen before or perhaps it was the real Ed finally coming out of hiding for so long.

"Ed, what…" she whispered, but was quickly silenced by a finger to her lips. Letting his hand slide to her cheek again, their eyes shut almost as a natural reaction.

Leaning in slowly, Edward let his lips lightly grace the ones of the girl. Pulling back slightly, he let his eyes open slightly to find that Winry had let hers do the same. Brushing a few stray bangs from her face, Ed smiled a bit at her. Before he could try and speak again, the girl leaned back into him, letting her lips meet with his once more. This time, it was deeper and longer as if something that seemed as if it was years waiting to come out.

They held each other close as the snow continued to fall about them. The girl moved his arms up about Ed's neck as they let their kiss continue. She let her fingers run through the long ponytail, some of the snow being brushed away. In the meanwhile, Ed had taken hold of her waist, letting his hand move up and down her back slowly.

Pulling apart, the two stayed close for a moment. They both smiled at each other, a small laugh exchanged. Ed nudged her nose with his own, making her smile even more. She returned the gesture, closing her eyes a bit. He kissed her cheek softly as she moved to rest her head to his shoulder, hugging him tightly.

Words just didn't seem needed as they separated. Taking up her waist and hand once more, Ed began to lead the girl about the dance floor once more. This time though, they both were smiling and laughing, taking in the moment as if it would never end. It didn't matter that the music had stopped playing and that there was nothing keeping them there. The only thing that mattered was that they were able to spend those moments together.

Author's Notes: Once again, I will apologize if the spelling or grammar is off. I am in the tail end of my finals, so words are starting to blur together. Anyways, the conclusion is soon to come.